Bird-trap.



s. w. EVANS. BIRD TRAP.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6, 1911.

0 3 PatentedJune 11,1912.

SAMUEL W. EVANS, OFBLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS.

BIRD-TRAP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 5, 1911.

Patented June 11, 1912.

Serial No. 642,552.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL W. EVANS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Blopmington, in the county of McLean and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bird-Traps, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

My invention relates more particularly to traps for catching smallbirds, such as sparrows, without necessarily injuring them, and it hasfor its primary object to provide an improved and simple form of birdtrap which shall be free from any moving device or be liable to deterthe bird from entering the trap, or capable of being moved by thosewhich have already entered, in such a way as to deter others fromentering.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved and simpleform of bird trap whose capacity for entrapping birds will be limitedonly by the cubic dimensions thereof, and which will be free fromdevices whereby the trap is sprung or rendered incapable of catchinganother bird after the first one has been caught until the trap is againset.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved andsimple form of bird trap having inlet passages and opening so arrangedand combined that after the bird has once entered the main compartmentof the trap, it will beunable to readily perceive the opening or passagethrough which it entered.

With a view to the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment ofcertain other objects which will hereinafter appear,

' the invention consists in certain features'of novelty in theconstruction, combination and arrangement of parts which will now bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, and moreparticularly pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawingsFigure 1 is a plan view of a bird trap embodyingthis invention with the top removed. Fig. 2 'is a side clamped togetheragainst the side walls by means of hooks or rods 7 so that when desiredthe bottom may-be readily removed. The bottom may be in the form of apan or tray into which the edges of the side walls are seated, while thetop is ofsimilar form having a depressed portion of the pan or traysituated within the side walls so as to prevent collapse of the latter.

Two of the diametrically opposite side walls are provided near theirlower edges with inlet apertures S, and at the lower edge of each ofthese is arranged a walk or incline 9 extending inwardly and downwardlythere from for the birds to walk on when entering the trap. This walk orincline is covered by a screen 10, which extends inwardly and downwardlyfrom the top edge of the opening 8 and has its inner end curveddownwardly to such a degree as to bring it below the level of the innerend of the incline 9, which latter, as shown in Fig. 3, has its innerend supported a considerable distance above the bottom 6 by a shortsection of vertical wall 11, preferably constituting a continuation ofthe incline 9, which is made of wire netting or ,screen. The lowercurved extremity 10 of the member 10, however, is situated some distancefrom the extremity of the incline 9, so that after the bird reaches theend of the incline 9, it will be induced to hop off on to the bottom 6,and being then prevented by the wall section 11 from retreating underthe incline 9, and with its head directly under the curved end 10*, itwill naturally be induced by the narrow confines of the passageway tomove forward or inward through the passage left under the end 1.0 ratherthan make a retrograde movement.

The inclines 9 and 10 constitute the bottom and top respectively of theinlet passageway, while the sides of this passageway are constituted byside walls 12 which extend inwardly from the side edges of the opening 8in the wall l, and support and inclose the inclines 9, 10. These sidewalls 12 also extend inwardly beyond the extremity of the incline 10, asshown in Fig. 3, and are provided at some distance from the incline 10with an end wall 13, which adjoins a top portion 14 extendinghorizontally in an outward direction to the side wall 4 at some distanceabove the incline 10, thus completing an inner compartment or inclosurefor the inclines 9 and 10. The end wall 13 -of this inner compartment orinclosure is provided at the bottom with an opening 15 which permits thebird to enter the main compartment of the cage formed by the side walls4: and top and bottom 5 and 6. This opening 15, it will be seen, issituated below the level of the opening 8 and the downwardly curved end10 is carried below the top of the opening 15, which, as before said, isalso below the inner end of the incline 9, so as to constitute a maskfor completely hiding the passageway over the incline 9 to theouteropening 8 after the bird has once passed through the opening 15. Thedistance between the vertical wall 11 and the mask 10, as well as thedistance between the latter and the wall 13, is about the length of thebird to be entrapped, or slightly less than the same, so that after thebird hops off the incline 9 on to the bottom 6 in its eifort to reachthe bait sprinkled along the bottom 6, it will find itself more or lesscrowded for room, and therefore will be induced to pass under the mask10 rather than attempt to turn around or to back out over the inoline 9,and after passing under the mask 10 its natural course will be throughthe opening-15 rather than attempting to turn in the narrow confines ofthe space between the end wall 13 and the mask 10. By covering theinclines 9 and 10 by means of the side walls 12, end wall 13 and topportion 14, the passageway through which the bird entered is disguised,and a false passageway is formed above the incline 10. The naturaltendency of a bird in its effort to escape being always to fly upwardlyor to choose an upward passage rather than a downward passage, it isseenthat should the bird finally find the opening 15, its head afterpassing through said opening would naturally be above the lower end ofthe mask 10, and as this mask and the top of the incline l0 present anapparent avenue of escape, the bird would naturally pass over theincline 10 rather than under it. Finding itself trapped in the spaceabove the incline 10, it would naturally pass through the opening 15again, should it retrace its steps in an effort to escape from thecompartment or inclosure above the incline 10, because, in descendingfrom the incline 10, its own body would fill and exclude from itsobservation the passage below the extremity of the mask 10, leaving theopening 15 as the only apparent avenue of escape from the confines ofthe mask 10 and side Walls 12.

One wall of the main compartment may be provided with a door 16 for theremoval of the birds.

What I claim is:

1. In a bird trap the combination of a main inclosure, an innercompartment therefor adjacent one wall thereof, said wall having anaperture formed therethrough into said compartment, and a passagewayextending from said aperture inwardly into said compartment and havingits outlet pre sented downwardly adjacent the bottom of the trap, saidinner compartment having communication with the main inclosure adjacentthe inner end of said passageway,

2. In a bird trap the combination of a main inclosure, an innercompartment adjacent one wall of said inclosure, said wall having anaperture formed therethrough into said compartment and spaced from thebottom of the trap, a-walkfor the birds extending inwardly from thelower edge of said aperture and terminating in said inner compartment ata point removed from both ends thereof, an upright wall sectionextending downwardly from the inner end of said walk to the bottom ofthe trap and across the said inner compartment, the mem ber 10 extendinginwardly from the upper edge of said aperture and across the said innercompartment to form with said walka passageway, the inner end of saidmember 10 being turned downwardly below the level of the inner end ofsaid walk and terminating at a distance from the bottom of the trap toform an exit for the bird, said down turned end of the member 10 beingspaced from the inner wall of said inner compartment, the said innerwall having an exit at the lower edge thereof into the main inclo JOHNWV. VANCE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington. D. G.

